A COMMUNITY music project based in Boscombe have been given a donation of £1,000 from JP Morgan to help fund the purchase of three violins for its students.

The Coda Fiddle Orchestra was formed in 2004 by Jack Maguire, former leader of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, to help underprivileged children uncover the joys of music.

The youngsters range in age from four to 18, many of whom lack the financial resources to learn an instrument.

Director of Music at Coda Fiddle Orchestra Fiona McKinley said: “I am delighted at the generosity of J.P. Morgan in funding three quality violins for use by students at an advanced stage of their training.

“These violins will benefit a great number of students for many years to come.”

Operating under the umbrella of Coda Music Trust, it is a participatory community-based project providing free and subsidised tuition to help children in the Boscombe area discover the benefits of playing a musical instrument.

Throughout most of the pandemic, members of the orchestra have been receiving tuition on-line and are now looking forward to getting back together for live rehearsals.

These will take place in the Creative Kids Arts venue at the Sovereign Centre in Boscombe.

Through its subsidised free lesson scheme, eight students have passed grade 8, one to the Yehudi Menuhin School and two have furthered their professional musical careers.

All were children from underprivileged backgrounds who wouldn’t have been able to learn the violin without the Coda Fiddle Orchestra.

Lottie Forte, a member of the J.P. Morgan Community Relations Committee said: “The Coda Fiddle Orchestra does some amazing work in the local area and we were very pleased to offer them some support in this way.”

To find out more about The Coda Fiddle Orchestra visit the web site www.coda.org.uk.